Snaith// Living Space

The poem illustrates a cramped, run-down living space, where poeple live in buildings that lack  'straight lines' and beams which are 'balanced crookedly on supports' making it dangerous. The poet, Imtiaz Dharker, stated her insperation for the poem came from the slums of Mumbai, where people migrate from all over Indian the hope of a better life. At the end of the poem she celebrates the existence of these living spaces as a miracle due to its fragility and makes a poltical comment about it.

In this poem the poet celebrates the existence of these awful living spaces as a miracle due to its fragility and structure.

It seems due to this, Dharker may be making a poltical comment about how people should not have to live like this and how something largely wrong can easily happen.

Since Dharker argues new life ("eggs in a wire basket... hung out over the dark edge") is being caged into the same poor life like previous generations as well, which is typically seen to be morally wrong, it gives the impression that the poet/poem has the attitude of wanting the reader to believe that the current society is wrong and needs to be changed by giving the reader a sympathetic effect.

The word 'wired' is a good word to use as the young can see the brilliant, rich people on the outside but cannot get out of the basket and be like them as they're trapped in it.

In the poem there are posative and negative moods and emotions.

It is obvious that there is a theme of vunerability throughout the poem as the thin and fragile living space means that people are vunerable from an accident. With this comes the poet's anger towards the government and society as new life is being caged into something wrong and the "slanted universe"(inequality gap between the rich and poor which is famously big in India) is one of the main causes of this.

However, Dharker does show emotions of happiness and admiration towards the poor because they 'dare' to live in such a 'miraculous' enviroment. Also, the words 'light', 'bright' and 'faith' give a posative, hopeful mood to the end of the poem.

Metaphors - The metaphor's used in the poem often criticise the actual living space building, the state of society or even both. ('Nothing is flat', 'slanted universe', 'hung out over the dark edge', 'eggs in a wire basket').

Structure (enjambment) - The thin, tall structure of the poem with jutted out lines represents the building/living space itself with the 'crooked beams' etc. The use of enjambment also symbolises the structure and calamity of the society of India. Furthermore, the different sized paragraphs such as the small second paragraph represents the small living space there is.

Verbs/Adverbs - Verbs such as 'balance', 'leans', 'clutch', 'slanted' and 'hung', and adverbs such as 'dangerously' and 'crookedly' not only emphasise the instability of the living space but also the instability of society as a whole as the language suggests that something small could tip the balance one way or another, whether it being good or bad.

What is the poem trying to say/make me feel? 

Trying to make us sympathise the enviroment the poor must live in and question the behaviour of society.

How does the Poem make me feel/what are my opinions on it?